I like writing for children. It seems to me that most people underestimate their understanding and the strength of their feelings and in my books for them I try to put this right.

I would hate to live in the country, unless I was living on a farm.

Ten thousand pounds is the legal value of a negligently taken life, of a child or a parent. A cold and somewhat mean-spirited calculation: you would do better if you slipped on a paving-stone and broke a front tooth.

I am not a victim. I am an angry survivor.

Life isn't so complicated for children. They have more time to think about the really important things. That's why I occasionally moralise in my children's books in a way I wouldn't dare when writing for adults.

I like stirring the pot - I think it's part of my duty, to shake people up a bit - make them look at things in a different way.

All writers are thieves; theft is a necessary tool of the trade.